Ordered Kuiu - not impressed

[Superdoo]

Just about every Kuiu Item I own excels in the mountains...Trashing them in a thread when tens of thousands of guys love their gear is bad form.

The good news for the OP is they have good customer service...just send it back.

____

I don't see any of this as "trashing" them. You're correct that it seems a vast majority have had positive experiences, but based on the wide swings of what has gone wrong for folks, there is obviously room for some improvement. Why is it a bad thing to share a negative experience???
I don't know about you, but I come to this website for information. Good, bad and indifferent. I know I can get get both sides of the story here and that's what keeps me here.

 

[Trial153]

Unfortunately there are people that take criticism of gear they use as some type reflection on themselves. Just a symptom of our egocentric tendencies.

 

[Sb23]

Ya their sizes sometimes are silly. I usually wear XL tops in most brands but fit kuiu I have to order XXL and it’s still snigger than most XLs.

 

[fngTony]

We’re all built different but the material difference is baffling. Have you checked the package name with what’s on the garments? Maybe something got mislabeled.

 

[PA Hunter]

I have a bunch of gear from Kuiu I never had a sizing problem, love my guide jacket & pants and Yukon rain gear. I wear XL in everything and no pants were ever too long. I have allot of Kuiu gear, stone glacier and Sitks. Kuiu is my favorite though.

 

[WVELK]

Just about every Kuiu Item I own excels in the mountains...Trashing them in a thread when tens of thousands of guys love their gear is bad form.

The good news for the OP is they have good customer service...just send it back.

____

For the record, I am not attempting to trash the company. I opened the second box of my shipment. I will offer the good first. I do really like the Peleton 118 shirt. I wore it in the house a fair amount this evening and will be keeping it. I may even order another. I also liked the tiburon Zip T, but I suspect it will be too hot for early September Elk in NM.

I was not a fan of the Merino wool t-shirt. It was light, but seemed itchy to me. Now that is entirely a person preference. What bothers me, may not bother you.

Now for the bad, I ordered long sleeve Merino Wool t-shirts, and they shipped short sleeve. I ordered large large Tiburon Zip T and they sent extra large.

I am going to keep the Tiburon camo pants and the Loden Kutana pants. The fit and the material appears to be what it should be. The solid color Tiburon pants and the Valo Kutana pants are more akin to cotton than a performance hunting pant, and are in no way the same material as the Loden Pants I am keeping.

Not trashing the company, but am keeping some items for further evaluation and giving my first experience a “C”.

Finally, the price of Kuiu is certainly less than Sitka.

 

[ChrisAU]

I bet I’m close to 50 orders with no mis-ships, that is odd.

I have Kutana pants in Loden and Valo as well, and I can’t tell any difference in the material.

Kuiu merino is not as comfortable as First Lite for sure, but after a few washes I’m hard pressed to tell a difference.

Kuiu really starts to shine in the fleece items IMO. Peloton 97 is incredible for the weight, see the other thread on it, there’s a reason it’s even popular in the backpack hiking world. I also love the technical layout of the StrongFleece series with the body mapping and pocket layout designed around pack belts. The Kutana Hybrid jacket is another favorite piece - fleece in the back, synthetic insulation in the front, durable outer all around. Not much more to ask for when hiking in timber in cold weather when you need a little durability.

 

[briscoetab]

For the record, I am not attempting to trash the company. I opened the second box of my shipment. I will offer the good first. I do really like the Peleton 118 shirt. I wore it in the house a fair amount this evening and will be keeping it. I may even order another. I also liked the tiburon Zip T, but I suspect it will be too hot for early September Elk in NM.

I was not a fan of the Merino wool t-shirt. It was light, but seemed itchy to me. Now that is entirely a person preference. What bothers me, may not bother you.

Now for the bad, I ordered long sleeve Merino Wool t-shirts, and they shipped short sleeve. I ordered large large Tiburon Zip T and they sent extra large.

I am going to keep the Tiburon camo pants and the Loden Kutana pants. The fit and the material appears to be what it should be. The solid color Tiburon pants and the Valo Kutana pants are more akin to cotton than a performance hunting pant, and are in no way the same material as the Loden Pants I am keeping.

Not trashing the company, but am keeping some items for further evaluation and giving my first experience a “C”.

Finally, the price of Kuiu is certainly less than Sitka.

If you don’t like the Kuiu merino shirt do not get one from first lite either, I have both and to me they are identical. If I had my eyes closed don’t think I could tell the difference other than the first lite might be just slightly more relaxed. I like my merino shirts but have been looking at the peleton shirt or a shirt from Sitka, haven’t decided yet, maybe I’ll just get both.

 

[briscoetab]

I bet I’m close to 50 orders with no mis-ships, that is odd.

I have Kutana pants in Loden and Valo as well, and I can’t tell any difference in the material.

Kuiu merino is not as comfortable as First Lite for sure, but after a few washes I’m hard pressed to tell a difference.

Kuiu really starts to shine in the fleece items IMO. Peloton 97 is incredible for the weight, see the other thread on it, there’s a reason it’s even popular in the backpack hiking world. I also love the technical layout of the StrongFleece series with the body mapping and pocket layout designed around pack belts. The Kutana Hybrid jacket is another favorite piece - fleece in the back, synthetic insulation in the front, durable outer all around. Not much more to ask for when hiking in timber in cold weather when you need a little durability.

Definitely haven’t ordered as much as you but have placed a few orders with them and same experience, no problem. That being said there must be a sizing consistency issue because I do see that posted all the time in different places, I must have just gotten lucky and not had that problem my self.

 

[NMframed]

My first kuiu order I did not size up and it did not fit. I had to send it back and ordered a size up, it fit perfectly and love everything else I’ve ordered from them for myself and my son.

 

[NEWAoutdoors]

Just ordered kuiu for the first time and fit true to size. Attack pants

 

[Ryan Avery]

I get to see lots of hunting gear every year. I don't think it gets better on the QC than Kuiu or Sitka. I always size up but I'm Thicc.

 

[aaen]

I think one of the issues here is how mens pants are sized.

Go grab a tailor tape and measure your waist then compare that to your pant size. The vast majority of clothing manufactures in north america with mens pants oddly list the pant size different then the true measurement. From what i have seen and checked with my own clothes it appears to be a 2-3 inche difference in sizing. So your pants measure as a 38, well your waist is actually a 40-41.

What i have learned is that when a company lists their sizing as true sizing/fit, I instantly know i need to order 1-2 sizes up. I also made the mistake with Kuiu as well on my attack pants. They are tight in the legs and waist, nothing i cannot fix with getting my butt off the couch and out of the truck and hiking with the dog, it is annoying though as we just typically order our normal size we purchase and wear and do not even think about the sizing.

 

[Jsusic]

Like alot of the other guys said, sounds like Kuiu just isnt for you. I have a few of their pieces and for the most part am happy with them. There are so many other quality gear companys out there that I am sure you will find one that is perfect for you.

 

[Bowhunter50]

I ordered several pieces including Tiburon and Kutana pants. The thing I like most is the side zippers and vents. Beyond that, I find few redeeming qualities. First, I ordered Kutana pants in solid and different camo patterns. The material in each pant is different. Not even close. Next, the must cut the pant legs for giants. I am 6’0 tall and I would have to cut off 6 inches of material from the legs - no exageration. I have a 33 inch waist and a 34 inch pants is darn near tight. I could go on with other issues, but will not. What am I missing? I was really expecting more from them.

Have you tried talking to Kuiu? No offense but usually I try to give the company a chance to make it right before going to the internet and starting a thread about it. Like I said above I have ordered a lot of stuff from Kuiu and the one MINOR issue I’ve had I talked to them and they took care of me.


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[WVELK]

If you don’t like the Kuiu merino shirt do not get one from first lite either, I have both and to me they are identical. If I had my eyes closed don’t think I could tell the difference other than the first lite might be just slightly more relaxed. I like my merino shirts but have been looking at the peleton shirt or a shirt from Sitka, haven’t decided yet, maybe I’ll just get both.

As noted above, do they get softer after a wash or two? I would keep the one they sent, but dang it I really don’t like short sleeves. I know if is hotter, but I like to keep the sun off my arms.
Does the wool hold up after washing?

 

[WVELK]

Have you tried talking to Kuiu? No offense but usually I try to give the company a chance to make it right before going to the internet and starting a thread about it. Like I said above I have ordered a lot of stuff from Kuiu and the one MINOR issue I’ve had I talked to them and they took care of me.


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I have no idea why people are so “offended” by someone asking questions about a product In a forum setting. Do they have an ownership interest or are they just die hard fans? I know they are a very good company. Otherwise, they would not have gotten this far. I owned a decent size manufacturing company in the hunting industry for over 20 years, and never once did I get upset over anything on the net. But, to answer your question - yes I did talk to them twice. First, when I placed the order over the phone and asked for THEIR recommendations for my hunt. They screwed up taking the order - end of story. Maybe it has never happened before in the history of the Company. I have no idea, and as posted above “no harm no foul”. All I am trying to do is find a few pieces to try. The second time, I called they were very nice and just said to send the items back for a refund and/or exchange. So lets stop acting like I am trashing the God Parents to your children please.

Here are my remaining questions. Forget about size and quality control. Are the two best tops to try for warm weather hunting the Peloton 118 and light wool shirt? I had not thought about the wool getting softer or itching less after washed. If it does, I am certainly getting a long sleeve wool shirt. It seems to me like the Tiburon zip top is likely too warm for hunting in the heat of September? If you have experience please let me know.

Next, I am keeping one pair of Tiburon pants and one pair of the Kutana pants. The Kutana is a little heavier, but with the side vents ( which is a GREAT feature I had side zippers installed in my hunting pants by local tailor 20 plus years ago ), I doubt the Kutana will be much warmer to wear than the Tiburon. Am I wrong?

 

[briscoetab]

As noted above, do they get softer after a wash or two? I would keep the one they sent, but dang it I really don’t like short sleeves. I know if is hotter, but I like to keep the sun off my arms.
Does the wool hold up after washing?

I didn’t really notice a difference after washing but before washing they felt pretty comfortable and soft to me. I’ve probably washed mine 10 times now and still looks new and I wear it a bunch before I wash it as well. If I sweat it out or something I just let it dry and then rewear it. I do not hang dry it because I’ve read if you hang dry them they will stretch but I do not know if it is true because I only dry them laying flat wether it is after washing or after sweating in it.

Honestly, as far as what to wear when it’s hot I like the ultra tiburon hybrid zip shirt. It’s long sleeve and breathes very good, seems to dry quick. I’ve been wearing it in the heat here in Texas (90-100) and it does the best out of anything I have but I have not tried just the synthetic like the peleton 118, which is probably what I will try next or the Sitka synthetic. The merino short-sleeve shirt is ok in the heat but I sweat bad in it and does not protect my arms from the sun, no way I would wear a long-sleeve merino shirt in the heat (me personally).

I did not buy the merino shirt or the tiburon shirt for the Texas heat but for September Colorado elk hunting, so I think for elk hunting they will be ideal but for 90-100 nothing is going to work great.

 

[406unltd]

 

[dreamingWest]

I'm a Kuiu fan and have grown to appreciate some of my original pieces even more after years of use. Medium tops always fit great. I'm a size 30 waist and their size 30 pants are very tight on my thighs. I buy size 32 and have a local tailor alter the waist. I think she charged about $8 for three pairs. The features and fabric make this effort worth it.